COHOES – A Common Council member wants to know why city public works crews have been cleaning debris from an empty lot to make it shovel-ready for a private $3.5 million development — a project launched by a firm that includes an Albany County legislator among its executives.

Councilman Randy Koniowka of the 6th Ward said he’s had difficulties getting information from City Hall about why the city is doing the work at the former movie theater site at 12 White St. and the costs involved.

“There’s a lot of conflicts," said Koniowka. "There are more questions than there are answers."

Mayor Shawn Morse, who regularly feuds with his fellow Democrat Koniowka, said the city has an intermunicipal agreement with the Cohoes Local Development Corp. to prepare the site for Cornerstone Construction Corp., and will be reimbursed by the LDC for the work. The mayor said the city has spent $7,800 on the project.

“We are just about wrapping it up,” Morse said. “One of the things we don’t have and are lacking are shovel-ready sites."

Koniowka questioned Morse's estimate of $7,800, and noted the city removed an old 2,000-gallon oil tank from the site during the last three to four weeks. Contractors in the city have raised issues about the costs for the project, he said.

“Where is the contract? Where is cost estimate sheets for the job?,” said Koniowka, adding that he wants to see documentation for the work.

The redevelopment of the project is one that Morse spoke about in his most recent State of the City address. In his printed remarks on the Cohoes LDC website, he described the end product as a four-story mixed-use building with 20 rental units and 9,000 square feet of commercial space.

Morse called it a "welcome addition to our community and a staple to our plan to repopulate our downtown as we continue to reinvest in Cohoes.”

Morse took issue with the claims made by Koniowka, who has previously complained about the mayor's penchant for withholding information from the Common Council until shortly before it meets.

Koniowka pointed out that Cornerstone’s vice president is Albany County Legislator Todd Drake, whose Colonie district borders Cohoes. Morse said a county legislator has the right to do business.

Drake, a Republican, called the flap “a political fight between the mayor and the councilman. I don’t have any leverage with the Democratic machine in the city of Cohoes."

Cornerstone took on the project after a previous developer bowed out. The corporation inherited the previous deal for the site, including the requirement that it be shovel-ready. At the Cohoes LDC’s January meeting, the board approved the transfer of the deed for 12 White St. to Cornerstone, noting that arrangements were made with the city to pay to have the Department of Public Works remove the old movie theater's foundation.

County Legislator Ralph Signoracci, the city’s director of operations and a Cohoes LDC board member, recused himself from the vote.

The Times Union first reported in July that Drake and Signoracci were involved in the project. Drake said he and Signoracci, a Democrat representing Cohoes, are on different sides politically. He added that he never served with Morse when the mayor was a county legislator.